Deshpande Group Claim

The picture my group chose to work with was a picture of pesticide being sprayed into a gutter to kill bug larvae. Only the nozzle of the sprayer is shown and in the background is a small naked child standing a foot or two away with an older woman crouched over holding a bucket and a basket of some kind. The woman is very skinny and she is in an awkward crouching position. The building they are outside of is rusted and has chips in the paint all over. It looks very unsanitary. Although the article is focused on how they spray pesticide in the water because of an outbreak of Malaria the emphasis is put on the small child and woman in the back of the picture. This picture is a prime example of a claim made by Shekhar Deshpande within his article The Confidant Gaze. The claim made was, “In fact, it would not be out of place to suggest that National Geographic has made an aesthetic of its own in photography. It is slick, it is technically flawless or even adventurous, and it attempts to sanitize and universalize the uncomfortable as well as different elements of other cultures” (Deshpande par 7). In an attempt to sanitize this picture National Geographic has the small naked child standing in the middle of the picture so your attention is drawn to this cute little kid instead of the pesticide going in the water a couple feet away from him. Perhaps National Geographic purposefully does this to make you feel alright about looking at the picture. The image without the child would be very ineffective because the viewer doesn’t want to look at a pesticide nozzle spraying pesticide into the water. They want to see the culture and the people its affecting.

Deshpande Group Claims

The claim that our group used in Deshpande' article was, "Human suffering becomes worth a good image (par 10)." This is related to our picture and all that we have read about Deshpande because our photograph portrayes a scene with a naked kid who is about three years old and behind him is an elderly woman who is chouched over collecting water from a stream on the ground while the boy watched and the water in the picture looks as if it is dirty or unsanitized and unhealthy. This is exactly what Deshpande talks about in his article how National Geographic magazine photographers take pictures like this one to get the interest of the "Western World Eye." So when the viewers see this photograph or ones that are similar to it they become hooked to the article because we are looking for the problems or situations of other cultures.
The complex claim that I have gotten from reading and viewing Deshpande' article is; Are the expressions or emotions given by people of different cultures in National Geographic's photographs their true fellings. Or does the photographer portray each character in certain ways to influence and change the perspectives of the western world viewers. Not giving them the real aspect of what is actually happening.

Deshpande Summary

In Deshpande' article "The Confident Gaze" he talks about the National Geographic's special issue "India Turning Fifty," on the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of India's Independence. In his article he talks about the cover page of the issue how it shows an Indian boy who is painted in all red and his eyes are glaring straight in to the camera. The significance of showing this boy is what Deshpande describes saying that photographers that take pictures for National Geographic magazine try to get the "Innocent attractiveness" in there photographs. Explaining how photographs that are taken in different countries of different cultures are edited, "polished with gleaming lights and perfection of the position of the object to change the perspective of what he calls, "The Western World Viewers." So the sorroundings or areas that they photographer is in to get these photographs, are a lot different then images that are portrayed in a magazine photo. So the audience of National Geographic are not given the real aspect of what is actually happening where the photographer is and they change the actual photo to put the viewing world in a "happy place" so we become interested and hooked in to read the magazine and stay focused on the articles. He also goes on about how National Geographic magazine covers or represents all the troubling issues or situations around the world and how they, "can sanitize and even beautify the blood and the gore of the conflict. This power to transform the most repulsive results of the human actions around the world into images that are digestible is what makes for the culture of National Geographic." So the repulsive and gory images that the photographer is seeing in real life are nowhere compared to what is being portrayed to the western veiwer and we are not able to grasp the real concept or reality of what is happening. So we will never be able to see through the eyes of the photographer.

National Geographic Photo

In this issue of National Geographic, which is focused on Pakistan, there is a photo of a large group of male Pakistani men protesting something. They are all wearing black business suits complete with ties and shiny shoes. The protest appears to be taking place in a city square. The man closest to the camera is posed through an object, possibly a rock, at an unseen target. He is holding a stick in the other hand, which could be a picket sign. His shows what looks like anger and determination.
When I first saw this photo my initial reaction was: “That reminds me of Wall Street.” While this photo does not seem to “beautify the blood and the gore of the conflict” as Shekhar Deshpande suggests some of National Geographic’s photos do, I believe it holds an appeal to Western viewers for a different reason. I immediately connected these men’s plight with many American men’s problems in America’s economy. The photo didn’t have to be edited or posed to catch my attention, it was enough that these men resembled American business men.
The article this photo is featured with is about the controversy over the Pakistani government’s use of funds on the military instead of on the rebuilding of mosques. This photo does not immediately say to the viewer “religious controversy” and I believe it balances out other photos featured in the article; which featured images of groups of men praying and dancing, which are acts some Americans can’t relate to at all. I believe the protest photo distracts viewers from the bigger issues occurring in Pakistan, even though the article discusses one of them. Instead of helping us to accept their culture in its entirety, differences and all, the photo causes us to focus only on one part of it. Thereby not comprehending how intertwined the different aspects of their culture are, such as their religion and their military.

National Geographic Assignment

A) In the July 2007 issue of National Geographic, we see an interesting article that involves a colony in Nigeria, Africa called Nigeria Delta and their influences with famine and the war on oil. In the article there is a two page printout of a picture. This is the one picture that caught our attention when reading the article. It had two people in what appeared to be a dark home with no electricity or running water. A mother and her child were the only two in the room. Her child lied face down on a bed and appears to be starving due to an abnormally large-bloated belly. The mother caught our attention the most simply because the light of her eyes were so intensified that it instantaneously spoke of how much pain and suffering she is going through. In an article titled “The Confident Gaze” by Shekhar Deshpande, he states that “They have an urge to satisfy the curiosity of the viewer while defining it” (#2) which means that we as a western culture view depression or sadness in a way sparks our interests and ideas to flow smoother without hate or stereotyping.

B) Claims that we have come up with to further give a better view of what our main point would be is “Despite the resources that some countries may have available to them, it doesn’t mean that they are able to use them in an effective way.” (Complex claim for Beth) and “No matter what the situation unfolds, we as a society can take charge of our own actions.”(Complex claim for Mike)

Presented to you by Beth Brummel & Mike Kingma

The Unicorn Fish

The image that I am viewing right now is tragic. The seen is taking place at the sea – half frozen sea. The scene is created of sky on the top, ice in the middle part of the picture, then few streams of water in the middle and ice on the bottom. The color scheme used was mostly consisted blue shades except the sky owned some tones of pink and yellow. The picture itself was very smooth and calming. The atmosphere is clear, the air is cold, the sound is silent. And then in the bottom left corner, but not too in the corner – a bit closer to the middle, we see a bloody, dead whale the whale contains the blue shades too so he adds on to the picture. But the fact that he is dead doesn’t evoke anything. His horn (because this is a unicorn whale) cuts the image and leads the eye away to the other corner making you examine the sky even more.

The placement of the poor thing is so perfect and the streams are at the angle where the image becomes less of a scene but more of a scenery where you could just place this image on your wall. The calming attributes are not playing on feelings the image makes it seem ok to kill the ocean creatures. And the realization of that fact is striking to me, because we as the nation can make tragedy moment images into art, and accident occurrence into fun videos.

National Geographic Picture

thpicture I decided to depict was a 2 page spread of 9 people from Palestine praying. When you look at the background of the picture you see holes in the walls, wall paper coming off the walls, and exposed cement on th walls. There are 8 elderly people all intensely praying with deep emotion in thier faces. They look defeated as if they are asking God for something better. Among those elderly people stood one boy. He was croutched on the ground like many other of the men were. The only decoration in the whole place was a picture hung up on one of the walls of what looks like baby Jesus. The room is dimly lite making the picture more dramatic.

When I look at this image I feel like the people of Bethleham are suffering from the low economy and are praying for better things to come. The trashed room and dim lights gave it a depressing feel to it. The facial expressions of the praying people looked sad and helpless with a little of hopefulness all mixed in together. I think that everything that I saw in that picture was set up by the camera people. Even the things that the people were wearing was picked out by the National Geographic team. National Geographic has been around a while and they know what needs to be done to keep readers coming back. When they take pictures they think of ways for the pictures to be depressing, but make you think that there is hope and things are going to be better. National Geographic also tries to get you to focus on certain stories rather than others. Most people learn a lot about the world around them from reading National Geographic, but we need to remeber those pictures are photo shoots too. Shekar Deshpande wrote an article called the "Confident Gaze" which was about National Geographic and how honest thier work is. She went on to state, "we forget thatt he photographs and the contexts which they are placed represent a very concious effort by the editors to make the world a happy place and a happy place especially for the Western eye" (2). This means that the editors know what kind of pictures to put in the magazine to get the best results. National Geographic know what kind of articles to write next to the picture so you have a certain emotion while reading it. National Geographic is a great magazine with wonderful pictures and articles, but they dont always have the best intentions for the reader, or even who the article is about, they are always thinking about the magazine.

Photograph Response

A) My group focused on a photograph that was in a December 2007 issue and is of a group of Palestinians praying. This picture is of eight elders looking very defeated and one young boy and takes up two pages. In a dim lighted cavern with miss matched floor panels the young boy is in the middle of the spread and is squatting down almost sitting on his heels with his hands turned palms facing the roof almost as if asking for something better. The elders in the room are standing with heads bent and palms towards the roof. Behind the praying group hangs a torn from ceiling to floor wall covering, thus exposing the cement wall behind. In the upper left hand of the photograph hangs a portrait of what seems to be baby Jesus. This photo’s presentation of Palestine Christians supports Shekhar Deshpande’s statement “[i]t is as if that world needs to be posed in the appropriate way to the Western observer, he could not see it in its bare essentialities” (9). The way the prayers are positioned and situated for the pictures is almost so the viewer doesn’t have to see the rest of the grotto and only our imagination of what makes up the room is will fill in the feeling of despair rough way of life.

B) Without conscious awareness a viewer imposes knowledge he or she has of what is being looked at. That knowledge helps set the stage for how the picture is perceived. Photographers are, in many cases, relying on this knowledge to help impose feeling into their art. For example, the cover page photo on the May 1997 issue National Geographic is of a young Indian boy covered in red Holi powder that appears to the viewer as looking almost painfully sad yet has very curious eyes. A viewer imposes the pain onto the boy because of the knowledge he or she has about everyday living conditions in India. With a little more information the reader could find out that the red powder is for the spring festival Holi and it is a very happy exciting time for Indians.

Deshpandes quote

The setting of the photo is in an alleyway where cardboard and scrap metal are used as roofs and shelter, trash and waste water everywhere. So filthy that us, Americans would label this place as inhabitable and yet there are people in the picture, not just adults but children and even an infant. We chose Deshpande’s quote, “the photographs are rich in their content, but entirely dishonest in their relationship to the environment or the context” because as Americans would think the people living here would be miserable and unhealthy, the face expressions of the children show no sign of sorrow but somewhat curious which the little girl is seeing two boys playing on the side, supporting Deshpande’s claim. The picture’s rich content is the tons of filth we see and the dishonest relationship is how we interpret the picture, our first reactions seeing the kids which would be something like, “How are these people alive!?”
My claim would be about the way the western eye interprets the rest of world, comparing and contrasting cultures, thinking themselves as superior.

National geographic

National geographic has been a main staple of cultural knowledge in are society for a long time. It is read by such a wide variety of people, and just about everyone will have at one point in there life flip threw one of there magazines whether it be at a doctors office or for a school project. In are society it is looked at for an insight to other less known cultures to give us a chance to see how other parts of the world live or to see unusual animals. But recreantly a man named Shekhar Deshpande wrote an article called the confident gaze and in his article he addresses the issue that national geographic my not be giving us the whole story or may be cleaning it up for the western reader. My group chose a photograph of hunting at it’s most glorified version. In the picture you see a large bull elk laying dead in the grass while a female hunter sits atop. The photo has a peaceful look to it with a back ground of cool green grass. The photographer has completely cut out the real bloody aspects of hunting and make it seem like an almost tranquil experience. There is not a drop of blood to be seen in the photo and the hunter who sits on the lifeless animal does not seem excited or thrilled she looks rather like she is contemplating something not an expression you would think of for a person who has just killed an animal. National geographic has not really given there audience the true way hunting goes down. They have shown the audience only what they think they will want to see, they have cleaned it up to look neat and painless so the audience doesn’t have to see the other side. We look to magazines like national geographic to show us true accounts of what is going on in the world around us but what they are showing us instead is posed photos to entertain not inform.

Photograph response

a) In my group we focused on a photograph featured In the November 2007 edition of the National geographic magazine. The photograph is about hunting in Kentucky. It is a double page photograph that shows a black and brown elk with huge anthers dead on the bright green grass with a woman dressed in camouflage sat on the elk that she had just killed. The woman’s expression is odd because she looks like she had some regret about what she had done. The photograph shows hunting almost as an art. The elk is dead but there is no blood, or gore almost suggesting that hunting is a clean sport. The elk looks at peace. There is an obvious spotlight surrounding the dead elk and the woman to draw immediate attention to it. The photographer has made the photograph into something that you would show someone else as a piece of art. Although the photograph is good, it has been manipulated in order for the reader to not be disgusted by it. Many people are aware of how messy hunting can be, but the photograph does not show that part at all. The magazine leaves a big part of what is hunting is about out of the article. In the recent article “The Confident Gaze” Skehar Deshpande himself writes “They have an urge to satisfy the curiosity of the viewer while defining it” (2). Basically what Deshpande is saying is that the National geographic magazine photographers are modifying the photographs that they take in order to appeal to the viewers. They do not want their readers to be repulsed by what they see and would rather shield them from the truth.

b) On the cover of the 50th Anniversary of India’s independence featured in the National Geographic magazine we see a young boy painted red. It is a close up picture of the boy and the reader is immediately drawn to his eyes. His eyes are big and shiny and the viewer can see innocence about him while telling that he is emotional about something. His lips are dry and cracked that gives the illusion that he is deprived. We as viewers immediately feel sorry for him as we automatically assume that the boy has had a really hard life. What we forget to inform ourselves of is how there is a lens, a photographer and many other people involved while this picture is being taken. This boy is probably being told how to pose as the photographer is fully aware of what will tug at Western people’s hearts. While there is obvious emotions in the boys eyes we as readers have to ask ourselves, are these real emotions or is this boy just posing in front of a camera?

National Geographic photo response

Shekhar Deshpande makes a claim about the photographs in the National Geographic magazine: “[b]ut while it covers or represents such issues or situations, it can sanitize and even beautify the blood and the gore of the conflict” (Par. 12). While in small groups, my group chose a photo that followed along with Deshpande’s claim and how National Geographic can make horrible situations into beautiful pictures. The photo was of a boy standing in a field of crosses, almost like a graveyard but the crosses were a foot maybe two feet apart. The boy had a sad yet glaring look on his face, staring directly into the camera. He was positioned in the middle of the photo, and while there are others in the photo, you cannot see their faces, it is below their faces but high enough to see the boys face. There are many white crosses which the boy is leaning on, almost holding his hands as if he was praying, and there are also a few red crosses. By reading the description below the picture, I found out that the white crosses represent citizens who have died fighting ranchers from clearing land and the red crosses represent people who are still alive, but have death threats upon them. Poverty is most present in this area, the boy’s shoes are torn and his clothes are dirty. It is a dark and morbid photograph that is obviously posed. Yet at the same time one can see the beauty in this picture. It is well posed and emotional to the viewer. A sense of sympathy is almost overwhelming just from seeing this picture. That is why National Geographic has made a horrible situation into a beautiful picture. The complex claim I have developed from this photograph is: Even as beautiful as the Amazon forest is, there is still tragedies occurring to the people inhabiting it.

Shekhar Deshpande "The Confident Gaze"

Many Americans receive what they believe as valuable information through the visual and written texts of the magazine National Geographic. One may look into the article, dazzled by the lives of different cultures, often expressing curiosity. This is what draws the reader in, the different aspects of different cultures that Americans aren’t used to and want to familiarize themselves with other cultures without ever having to leave their own. An author by the name of Shekhar Deshpande explores this topic related to National Geographic. His viewpoint is that through the images that the editors are able to manipulate, the photography in National Geographic doesn’t tell the whole story of the culture. It tells the story that Americans want to hear. “While we admire the accomplishments of its photographers to bring us the rest of the world, we forget that the photographs and the contexts in which they are placed represent a very conscious effort by the editors to make the world a happy place and a happy place especially for the Western eye” (Par. 9). Even though the photography is quite amazing and admiring in National Geographic, it still doesn’t represent the whole truth of the culture such as; political conflicts, wars, religious conflicts, etc. Deshpande goes on to say that what the ‘Western eye’ desires to see is a sense of progress towards their own culture from other cultures. “The primitive, often a focus of the magazine, serves the same function by providing images of what ‘would have been’ if the West had not taken a march toward ‘civilization’” (Par. 15). This sense of ethnocentrism is blinding our perception of the reality of what is really happening in other cultures. National Geographic is informative, but only informative about the information they wish to teach.

Shekhar Deshpande's "The Confident Gaze"

“The Confident Gaze” is an article written by Shekhar Deshpande, were he digs into what he calls the desensitizing of front cover, inside photographs and world events covered by of the famously known National Geographic Magazine. The May 1997 issue of National Geographic covers the 50th anniversary of India’s Independence as the feature story. The cover is a photograph of a young boy covered in red which is one of the many colors that are used in the yearly spring festival Holi, which takes place either in March or April. When really observing the photo one is drawn in by the pain filled yet curious eyes of the boy. Then the question arises, did the photographer pose this boy in a way to show only what he wanted to about this boy? Deshpande puts it the best when he states, “[i]t is as if that the world needs to be posed in the appropriate way to the Western observer, he could not see it in its bare essentialities” (par 9).
For many young and old the National Geographic Magazine has been as common in the home as televisions are. In his article Deshpande explains that “Middle class parents have regarded the investment in the subscription as necessary for the exposure that the magazine gives their children about the world” (par 2). This is for many the only way to get knowledgeable about other parts of the world. Deshpande describes how even though the magazine is covering worldly events, the editors have this way of taking all the “third world” problems which make us all feel something and so we don’t get overwhelmed with reading the articles and viewing the photo’s, the editors and photographers have this way of sharing the stories without making the viewer not want to pick it up again due to all the sadness of the issues. In doing this the viewers are more apt to purchase more issues of the magazine.

The Confident Gaze Summary

National Geographic is a world renowned magazine that allows people to discover foreign places in the comfort of their own home. One reason why National Geographic has been so successful is because they take such vivid pictures. According to Shekhar Deshpande, author of "The Confident Gaze", their pictures don't show the full truth of all the issues going on. Deshpande states, "we forget that the photographs and the contexts in which they are placed represent a very conscious effort by the editiors to make the world a happy place and a happy place especially fro the Westen eye" (2). In other words National Geographic take pictures to represent what ever emotion they want you to feel while reading the article. The magazine tries to make poverty seem happy or improved to keep the Western eye reading their articles.
National Geographic needs to stop worrying about how many readers they have and begin to show truth in what they display in their magazine. National Geographic shows poverty and other sad stories in their magazine, but it leaves out important issues such as neighboring wars or an arms race. If they tell the truth of the real problems that are occuring in other countries the Western eye will still be interested. Deshpande states, "Human suffering becomes worth a good image" (2). Deshpande means that National Geographic would rather show a mother of four children not having enough food to support them rather than thousands of lives lost in a war.
Reading "The Confident Gaze" reassured my thoughts on continously looking at media critically.

"The Confident Gaze" summary

The National Geographic magazine has been a window for many people to be able to see other countries for many years. It is the 3rd largest subscription in the United States according to Skehar Deshpande. In his editorial featured on MEDIAWATCH Deshpande wrote an article called “The Confident Gaze”. In his article he talks about the edition featured in the National Geographic magazine in 1997 when India celebrated 50 years of independence. Deshpande discusses whether the Western culture are really being shown the correct information when it comes to educating themselves about other countries through the magazine or are they only showing elements of the culture and leaving out all of the most important parts? The National Geographic magazine uses mainly photographs to give the reader a look into other countries. The images that are featured about India gives the reader a sense of what goes on, but Deshpande feels that the images are dishonest and that they have been sanitized for people to able to deal with them. The images look vibrant, almost like a piece of art that someone can put out on their coffee table for people to gaze almost suggesting that western people need shielding about how life really is in India. Deshpande points out that what the readers are being shown are Indian lifestyles rather than regional conflicts. Deshpande himself writes “They have an urge to satisfy the curiosity of the viewer while defining it” (2). Basically what Deshpande is saying is that the National geographic magazine photographers are modifying the photographs that they take in India in order to appeal to the viewers. The photographers edited and manipulate the photographs so that the western culture will appreciate the photo as they may not want to see what really goes on behind the lens. Deshpande states “The idea of progress is always in terms of whether the others have taken steps to be Western” (3). In making this comment Deshpande argues that this implies that the western people are superior to the Indian people. If India does not adapt and live their life the same way western people live their life that they are doing it wrong. If the national geographic magazine is only showing the readers different country lifestyles then what are they really learning?

Summary of The Confident Gaze by Shekhar Deshpande

National Geographic is one of the most famed and beloved articles of text and photography through history, anthropology and culture to the eyes of the western world. Shekhar Deshpande, the author of The Confident Gaze, delivers the western culture’s view on India and how vivid in detail the culture is shown through the raw emotion of the visually stunning and awe inspiring photographs from various places around the world. However in this essay, Deshpande describes the photographs and the angle from which they are taken to be interpreted in a way that will be pleasing to the Western world; Whether the perceptions that are taken are given from a false light or not.
“Human suffering becomes worth a good image…the will to see is dominated by what they see” (Deshpande pg2 paragraph4). In this quote Deshpande is giving the idea that the Western world is consumed by images revealing poverty and suffering in other places around the world. He is saying that people are enticed by these pictures because of how they make them feel; meaning in a way, superior to those we see in the pictures that are in a worse state than us.
Deshpande also states that “The idea of progress is always in terms of whether the others have taken steps to be ‘Western’” (Deshpande pg3 paragraph2). This relates to Deshpande’s idea that we as a Western culture expect other countries to aspire to be like us. We expect others to catch up to us and be “Western”. When we saw how well India was doing according to National Geographic, we admired how well they were doing when comparing how far they’ve come to be like us, but Deshpande stated that, “…it has a lot of catching up to do if ‘catching up’ has to mean something” (Deshpande pg3 last line). Deshpande is meaning that if we have to compare every country and culture to us that everyone else will only ever have catching up to do.

Brought to you by:
Beth Brummel
&
Mike Kingma

"The Confident Gaze" Summary

The article “The Confident Gaze” by Shekhar Deshpande discusses issue of National Geographic which focused on India’s 50th anniversary of independence. Deshpande begins with a brief history of National Geographic and what it means for many Americans. Americans see the magazine is a reliable source of information about the rest of the world, and “[i]t has been a solid cultural reference for a number of issues” (Deshpande par 2). As Americans the majority of what we learn about certain cultures comes from National Geographic. We use the magazine in our schools, in our homes, and in our workplaces. Deshpande mentions that many parents view the magazine as vital for their children as it exposes and educates them about the realities of the rest of the world (par 2). For over a century National Geographic has delivered to us documentation of other cultures through photos and articles, and over time has gained our respect as a truly reliable source which holds nothing back.
However, Deshpande questions Americans ability to truly take in the magnitude of what National Geographic’s photos represent. He also questions National Geographic’s ability to present the photos in a truthful way. Deshpande states that while National Geographic “covers or represents such issues or situations, it can sanitize and even beautify the blood and the gore of the conflict” (par 11). Deshpande claims the richness of the photos content only serves to distract readers from the photos relationship to the environment or the context in which the photo was taken (par 13). In other words, while National Geographic does not shy away from including important issues in their magazine, they often use softer images and relatively small issues so that Americans will accept the information. By doing this, it takes away from the importance of the issue itself and does not convey the reality of what other, less developed civilizations go through.
National Geographic does this by “providing an identity formation to its readers” (Deshpande par 16). Deshpande sees National Geographic doing this by incorporating elements of the Western and modern world into its photos (par 16).
Why is National Geographic relevant to Americans when it is so focused on the disparity between the “us” and “them?” Deshpande points out that especially in the “India Turning 50” issue of National Geographic, Americans notice a sense of progress coming from India. Through “its commitment to democracy, the rise of the professional class, the spread and competence of its technology, etc.” it seems as if India has something to prove to the Western culture (Deshpande par 16). Perhaps this apparent strive towards democracy is what has made India the second most featured country in National Geographic. While the photos show us images of poverty and suffering, we are comforted by the fact that India has in fact been independent for 50 years, and has at least made a fraction of what Americans would define as “progress.” This is strongly emphasized by National Geographic’s editors who are making a conscious effort to make “the world a happy place and a happy place especially for the Western eye” (Deshpande par 9). The magazine does this by focusing on minute details about life in India, and leaving out the larger, very real issues such as war. So while Americans feel as if they are really learning about a culture, they are in fact only standing on the outside looking in; and looking through a lens wielded by people who are only selling us another product, not wisdom.